It is widely known that the wheels of justice — and of institutional change — turn slowly, especially when they turn against the well-established forces of the status quo.

The fact is: Whenever laws or regulations are proposed that could potentially cost businesses money, those businesses have advocates that can effectively fight those laws. In the past, that advocacy cost money, which is why the status quo so often won out. On the other hand, when the burden — in the form of either direct or indirect costs, such as pollution — is passed along to the general public, few if any advocates could afford to raise awareness about the issue. That simple fact explains a lot about the state of our world today.